The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) will push ahead with plans to install a 100 kilowatt solar array on San Francisco City Hall and a 200 kW array on the Davie Symphony Hall despite a squabble among local unions over which would do what work and how much they would be paid for the jobs.

It’s a bellwether of similar disputes that are occurring across California as the state is trying to codify which unions are best suited for which parts of installing solar.

The utility previously issued requests for proposals (RFPs) for the contracts, but shelved them after a labor dispute temporarily derailed another solar installation SFPUC had contracted out. Aboriginal Blackmen United protested labor contracts and a pay disparity between its members and members of the International Brotherhood of Electricians.

The dispute over the 5-megawatt Sunset Reservoir photovoltaic project led construction on the project to be halted. The protest forced work on the project to subside temporarily and led the city to halt the RFP process for the city hall and symphony.

Lacking final decisions from the California Department of Industrial Relations on how to divide work and pay the various union workers installing solar, SFPUC will rely on the recently passed San Francisco Local Hiring Policy For Construction for guidance, said SFPUC spokesperson Charles Sheehan.

It could take up to years for the state to issue such guidance, according to The Bay Citizen.

“It’s a complicated issue we’re facing locally, and it’s being reproduced throughout California. There is an ongoing dispute in the state about what trade and what prevailing wage can perform what scope of work,” Sheehan said. California has issued some preliminary job guidelines for photovoltaic installers. “It’s a good first step, but it doesn’t immediately resolve our issues.”

SFPUC announced its decision to push ahead with the planned installations at a March 21 hearing. At the hearing, the utility commission said it plans to introduce RFPs within a month, the newspaper said.

It will a little bit of time to get the renewed RFPs out, Sheehan said.

The RFPs need to be adjusted to account for the jobs ordinance, and they need to take into account any lowering in costs for panels that have occurred since the original RFPs were issued.

“There will be some changes,” he said.

Image courtesy of San Francisco County.